Just days after the suspension of further planned national train strikes, a new transport row is brewing which could involve industrial action at Bus Éireann.
The National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) on Monday warned the State-owned bus operator it would ballot its members for strike action if the company moved to implement unilaterally changes to rosters from next Sunday.
As part of a Labour Court recommendation which brought to an end a three-week strike at Bus Éireann earlier this year, new rostering arrangements for staff were to be introduced.
However, the design and implementation of these new rosters has proved to be problematical.
Several weeks ago unions strongly criticised rosters which were introduced at the Broadstone depot in Dublin which facilitated the introduction of a new express service to Navan.
Unions described the rosters put in place at Broadstone as “shoddy”, “illegal” and “Dickensian” and said they would involve some personnel having to work through the night on shifts of nearly 13-hours duration.
The company in turn maintained there had been a surge in the level of absenteeism which led to it having to cancel a number of services in September on its eastern corridor, mainly the Dublin-Meath and Dublin-Kildare routes.
The company is now to introduce roster changes to other Bus Éireann depots around the country from this weekend.
In a letter to the company on Monday which was circulated to members, NBRU general secretary Dermot O’Leary said the union was putting Bus Éireann on notice that if it moved to implement unilaterally changes to rosters without agreement from next weekend, “we will immediately ballot our members for industrial action”.
Bus Éireann said on Monday night it had “consulted and collaborated with unions since last May on these new rosters, which mean drivers will now drive for 84 per cent of their paid shift, and receive an hourly composite rate of up to €20.11”.
The company said it also met with unions at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) on October 24th when both sides agreed to an implementation roll-out date of November 12th.
The company said to facilitate final amendments this was postponed until Sunday, November 19th.
In the letter, seen by The Irish Times, he said there was "consternation" across the Bus Éireann network at the notion that the company would attempt to implement the Labour Court recommendation "without having first agreed to apply the procedures and processes contained in the document".
He said the union had raised concerns with the company on a number of occasions since the Labour Court recommendation was agreed about “botched and ham-fisted ” attempts by management to implement new rosters.
Mr O’Leary criticised “oppressive rosters and unworkable conditions” which he said members at the Broadstone depot were working under protest.
Representatives at Broadstone were at the end of their tether, “having been fobbed off when they offered local management a viable roster rotation which would have brought much needed relief to the horrendous working conditions on the current temporary rosters,” he said.
“Quite a number of our members, including senior representatives have been suggesting that someone, somewhere has been busy designing a plan to undermine or dismantle Bus Éireann,to drag it into disrepute , with some sinister privatisation masterplan in mind.”
